Sonic Rites is a yearly festival of the darker end of music genres: doom, dark ambient, industrial, hardcore punk, etc. The festival has brought interesting international visitors and the cream of the Finnish underground music scene to Helsinki for several years. Sonic Rites has found a fitting home in Ääniwalli at the old Vallila industrial quarters that provide a fittingly rugged atmosphere. Naturally, we were again keen to see what was going on at the festival that took place on Friday, May 23rd, and Saturday, May 24th, 2025.
Sonic Rites featured a setting of two stages. This year, the outdoor stage, which opened the events at last year’s festival, was scrapped, and all the shows were held inside. The festival wasn’t quite as well-attended as last year, but the main events of both evenings drew a good following. Again, there was a lot to see for anyone interested in the more extreme and dark edges of the music scene.
Saturday at Ääniwalli opened on the smaller stage with the industrial sounds of French visitor MARQUIS IS DEAD, whose show was a nice dive into the dark to open the night. On the larger stage, the British group CONJURER continued delving into the abyss with their sludge/doom sounds.
The second artist on the smaller stage, LUCY KRUGER AND THE LOST BOYS, proved to be the gem of the whole festival. Their art pop with distinctive trip hop vibes and a dark, gloomy feel to it was hugely intense and enchanted the crowd. Kruger herself is a striking head figure on stage, and the band backing her delivers some quirky ideas; a band worth witnessing!
On the main stage again, it was time for some electronic sounds as DJ KRIDLOKK performed his set as the first Finnish performer of the night, delivering his beats and darkly humorous lyrics. Then on the smaller stage, the Italian PONTE DEL DIAVOLO with their black metal feels, and religious symbolics delivered some raw energy, bordering some punk-like feels too.
Second to last on the main stage were the grand old ladies of metal, GIRLSCHOOL. The act was fun with some joyful crowd interaction. Although maybe their most energetic playing days are behind, it’s always nice to witness some road openers on the stage. On the smaller stage, the second Finnish act of the evening, POLYMOON, is a delightful space rock/psych rock act with huge stage energy and some catchy songs.
Second to last on the main stage were German DOWNFALL OF GAIA, a band mixing some extreme punk vibes with heavier metal sounds, creating a pleasant, unique sound and energy. The smaller stage was then finished by JK FLESH, a dark electronic music set mixing some techno vibes and heavier sounds.
The festival and Saturday came to a close with Ukrainian STONED JESUS, a delightful stoner metal band from Kyiv. They took the stage with attitude and rumbled the audience to a sweaty end for the night.
In the end, Sonic Rites managed to bring in some very interesting acts, and although the artists are from quite different ends of the darker music continuum, the festival has a feeling of unity as a whole. As the tickets for next year’s festival are already on sale, we hope to witness another edition of Sonic Rites in 2026! Check our photos of Sonic Rites‘ second and final day on Saturday below…
Marquis is Dead
Conjurer
Lucy Kruger and the Lost Boys
DJ Kridlokk
Ponte del Diavolo
Girlschool
Polymoon
Downfall of Gaia
JK Flesh
Stoned Jesus
